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San Diego Shakira impersonator causes stir

America's Got Talent contestant Boy Shakira -- a local male Shakira impersonator -- has polarized the show's three judges; Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan have approved him as a contestant, while David Hasselhoff argued on air with Morgan, "Are you sitting on the same stage as me? Oh, my God! The world has gone mad!"

"[Hasselhoff] didn't like my original style and walked off the set," says Boy Shakira, who took his name from the headline of a "Blurt" article last year. Back then he was known as "Luigi, the Impersonator of Shakira." Contacted by phone the day after his AGT performance, Boy Shakira -- real name, Louis Padilla -- said, "A lot of people on the Internet are saying bad comments I'm not even reading, but two of the judges liked me! After ten years of struggle, I finally made it."

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During the few days following the broadcast, clips of the heavyset 30-year-old man belly dancing in a halter top and blond wig aired on Good Morning America, MTV2's Week in Rock, VH1's Best Week Ever, and the TV Guide Channel. A YouTube video of his AGT appearance has been played over 10,000 times.

Padilla's mother appeared with him on the TV show.

"She's really proud of me.... I might have to get a manager soon, so many people are calling." Padilla is tight-lipped about future episodes, which have already been taped.

"We're not even supposed to talk to reporters without permission from the producers," he says. "They don't want us giving anything away."

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America's Got Talent contestant Boy Shakira -- a local male Shakira impersonator -- has polarized the show's three judges; Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan have approved him as a contestant, while David Hasselhoff argued on air with Morgan, "Are you sitting on the same stage as me? Oh, my God! The world has gone mad!"

"[Hasselhoff] didn't like my original style and walked off the set," says Boy Shakira, who took his name from the headline of a "Blurt" article last year. Back then he was known as "Luigi, the Impersonator of Shakira." Contacted by phone the day after his AGT performance, Boy Shakira -- real name, Louis Padilla -- said, "A lot of people on the Internet are saying bad comments I'm not even reading, but two of the judges liked me! After ten years of struggle, I finally made it."

Sponsored
Sponsored

During the few days following the broadcast, clips of the heavyset 30-year-old man belly dancing in a halter top and blond wig aired on Good Morning America, MTV2's Week in Rock, VH1's Best Week Ever, and the TV Guide Channel. A YouTube video of his AGT appearance has been played over 10,000 times.

Padilla's mother appeared with him on the TV show.

"She's really proud of me.... I might have to get a manager soon, so many people are calling." Padilla is tight-lipped about future episodes, which have already been taped.

"We're not even supposed to talk to reporters without permission from the producers," he says. "They don't want us giving anything away."

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